Beware The Cordless Tool Battery Charger

Bruce Bjorkman, from Cooking Outdoors with Mr. Barbecue, recently told me of a friend whose house burned to the ground as a result of a cordless tool battery charger catching fire. Doing a quick Google search, I found, to my surprise, that this is more common than I would have expected. Based on the articles I read, I’ve compiled a list of six suggestions for safely charging power tool batteries:

1. Don’t ever leave batteries charging overnight.
2. Put battery chargers on a switched power strip that also runs something you wouldn’t leave on when not in the shop, like a radio.
3. Put a smoke detector in your shop, near your power tools.
4. Check to see if your batteries or the tool have been recalled.
5. Stop using formerly silent chargers if they begin “singing” or whining.
6. Don’t trust the user’s manual, even if it says it’s ok to leave batteries charging.

There is one common misconception that I’d like to clear up about the proper way to charge cordless tool batteries, now that the safety consideration has been addressed. Because early NiCad batteries were first used in low current devices like cordless phones, they developed a “memory”, and after a while simply wouldn’t hold a charge. The solution was to periodically leave the phone out of the charger, letting the battery discharge fully, and then recharge it.
As consumers, we developed a memory as well. Many folks think that the proper way to treat a cordless tool is to fully discharge it before putting it in the charger. This can actually damage the battery. Instead, you should stop using a battery as soon as you feel a substantial decrease in power from the tool. The other consistent recommendation I found when doing the research was to let the battery rest and cool down before putting it into the charger and this suggested charging technique was the same regardless of the type of battery.

Finally, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the different types of cordless tool batteries in use today. There are basically three, Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion (Li-ion). Lithium Ion batteries are probably the wave of the future for two major reasons:

1. They deliver comparable power in a much lighter weight package, and
2. They have a very long shelf life without losing a charge.

Lithium Ion chemical action produces about 3.6 volts per cell while all other common varieties, whether lead acid, alkaline, or NiCad, produce 1.2 volts per cell. This is why some of the smaller cordless tools only have a 4 volt battery. It’s not really a battery at all; it’s only one lithium ion cell. Technically to be called a battery, it must be two or more cells connected together.

And, the long shelf life is a very welcome characteristic of the Lithium Ion battery. A typical Nickel battery will discharge naturally, 15 to 20 percent in the first 24 hours, 7 to 10 percent the next day, and about 1 percent every day after that. Lithium Ion batteries will hold a nearly full charge for months, making them an ideal power source for cordless tools that don’t get used every day.

There's A Chill In The Air ~ Fall Is Near

If you start this week and do just a little more each week, by the time winter finally arrives, you and your home will be ready for anything that mother nature throws your way. Over the course of the next five weeks, I'm going to suggest a simple action plan to help get your home ready for fall. Then, we'll take the month of October to "winterize" and by November, we'll be able to enjoy all the holidays, knowing we are ready.

This week would be a good time to take care of these four items:

1. Make an appointment with your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) company to service the furnace, assuming you didn't do it when you had the A/C tuned up earlier this spring. This is an annual check-up that is well worth the investment. Most companies have a standard list of things they include in the annual inspection; this would be typical for a gas fired furnace:

Limited Blower Cleaning
Clean or Change Filter (customer-supplied or purchased)
Test Safety Controls
Test Temperature Differential
Test Flame Sensor
Oil the Blower & Inducer Motor (as required)
Test Amp Draw to Blower
Rate/Set Furnace Input
Test Amp Draw Inducer
Inspect Flue Pipe
Test Hot Surface Igniter
Clean Burners
Tighten Electrical Connections
Clean & Adjust Pilot Assembly
Clean Exterior
Test Gas Pressure
Brush & Inspect Heat Exchanger
Test for Gas Leaks
Vacuum Burner Compartment

2. Stock up on furnace filters, if your system uses a disposable style. Don't scrimp here; buy a good pleated filter. I use and recommend Camfil Farr 3030 filters, because they seem to give the longest effective life, making them the best value for the dollar.

3. Consider switching out your manual thermostat to a programmable one. Properly used, this returns dramatic savings in energy costs.

4. Remove all flammable materials that may have been placed near the furnace during the course of the summer. Remember, the furnace is a source of ignition; don't give it anything other than it's required fuel source to catch on fire.

Next week, we'll take a look at getting the fireplace ready for the coming heating season.

'Til then, be sure to do what you love and love what you do.

Handyman Bob

Avoid Home Improvement Fraud

Once you're a victim of a home repair scam, you won't ever get your money back and you'll have to pay for the repairs and possible additional damage again. Prevention is the best form of protection.

My thanks to Paul Solomon, author of the book, Fraud Insure Your Life, An Interactive Guide to Protection, Prevention & Resolution for joining me on Around the House with Handyman Bob June 27 to talk about ways to avoid scams in home improvement and home repair. Listen to the podcast at www.aroundthehousenw.com.

From the show, I've created Handyman Bob's Top Ten List of Ways To Avoid Home Improvement Fraud:

1. Verify the contractor's license with CCB in Oregon and BOLI in Washington. Don't even consider hiring someone who is not licensed, because you become the contractor, responsible for paying subcontractors, accidents on the property, and maybe even payroll taxes. No license, no work!

2. Be Super Careful here. According to the Postal Inspector, the fastest growing areas of home repair fraud are Painting, General repairs, Re-roofing/Roof repairs, Siding Replacment, and Whole House Window Replacement.

3. The scam artist really puts pressure on to arrange for fast payment. Legitimate businesses also want to reduce the time between making the sale and getting paid, but scammers stress this, because for them their job is not the work to be done - it's collecting the money!

4. Watch for these warning signs - rebates, door-to-door sales, selling the financing and not the work, money up front, offers of free inspections, no tools in their van, advertising that doesn't include a license number, can't produce license and insurance information, proposal is very vague with regard to quality of materials.

5. Don't close the door - slam it, if you hear, "working in your neighborhood and have materials left over...", "use your house to get more work", "offer only good today", "cash for materials up front".

6. Insist on a detailed contract. If remodeling the kitchen, the contractor should specify the make and model of all appliances, all fixtures, all stone and tile, the color of the paint - you get the idea. If the contract simply states, "Remodel kitchen - $32,000", show him the door.

7. Never, ever pay by debit card (and avoid using checks drawn on an account with lots of $$$ in it) and never allow use of your tools in lieu of theirs (if they don't have tools, they're not for real).

8. Always pay using a credit card or, if you choose to use checks, make sure they are not one of your primary bank accounts. Scammers don't just stick to home improvement fraud, they love identity theft, as well. If you use a check to pay for work done by a subcontractor, make the check payable to both parties, the contractor and his sub.

9. Never pay the whole amount until you are completely satisfied with the work. In fact, it is a good idea to have 10% to 20% retainage specified in the contract. This is common practice in commercial work; insist on it when remodeling or repairing your home.

10. Don't even consider hiring someone who is not licensed! This is so important, it is not only the first item in the Top Ten List of Ways To Avoid Fraud In Home Improvement, it is also the last one. Remember, No License, No Work!

Of course, things got a whole light lighter when Angela Todd, www.nwinteriordesigner.com, joined us for her weekly feature, Design Angle. It got downright hilarious, in fact, as she related her top ten listing of faux pas of interior design. Stop by her blog -http://blog.nwinteriordesigner.com - to see what's hot and what's not!

The 4th of July show is already in the can, as they say, so I'll get a chance to hear myself do a show as I enjoy a tall, cold, adult beverage on the back deck from noon to 2:00 PM. If you happen to be out of the KXL broadcast area, the show will be streaming live on the Internet at www.kxl.com.

Plan to be with us on the 11th as we talk about Outdoor Living, when my guests include Dave Macausland, the inventor of Sun Frog products, Lance Walheim, author and all around "green" expert, and Scott Cohen to talk about his latest book, Outdoor Kitchen Design. I've even got a special surprise in store, so you won't want to miss this one!

In the meantime, make sure you do what you love and love what you do. Stay tuned for lots more Around the House with Handyman Bob.